Race Report - Yankee Springs Trail Marathon

Wow, weekends don’t get much better than this.

After May’s Ice Age 50K, where I placed a respectable 3^rd and ran a 10-minute PR, I surprised myself by how well I recovered. After just one day off running (but still logging an hour on the bike), I jumped back into training in full force.

Technically, my marathon PR was 3:30 from a dismal race my senior year of high school (side note: in looking back at my “training” for that, I peaked at a 31-mile week, but tended towards the 15-20 the preceding weeks to that suckfest). Unofficially, I went through mile 26 at Ice Age at around 3:24, so I knew I had a PR in me for my June race, the Yankee Springs Trail Marathon, over in Middleville, Michigan.

With weeks of 45, 63, 65, and 64 miles for the weeks between Ice Age and Yankee Springs, plus an average of 6-10 hours of biking per week, I was confident enough to even start throwing in some more serious workouts. Hill repeats at Tower Rd., 3-on/1-off fartleks, and an impromptu 10-mile tempo all had me in some of the best shape of my life. Perhaps more importantly, though, was that I was mentally hungry for a good race to show off all this hard work.

The Friday before the race, I biked 15 miles up north to run an easy 30 minutes with Keelin, then back home to shower and nom before I met up with my friend Dana. Her family owns a house in Michigan, just an hour from the Yankee Springs trails, and they were gracious enough to let me spend the night with them. After a questionable-yet-delicious dinner at a Chinese Buffet (in retrospect, this was a huge gamble. Wow), we walked down towards the beach for a beautiful sunset, then hit the sack early.

Race morning had us out the door at 5 am – 4am Chicago time (of which I totally didn’t take into account). But with some bumpin’ tunes and a 5-Hour Energy, I was wide awake by the time we arrived at the Yankee Springs trail. After quickly scoping out the competition, I went through my usual pre-race ritual of freaking out and second-guessing myself, but Dana was good at quelling those fears. At the last minute, I opted to run shirtless (but with my little handheld water bottle), then ran up to the front of the starting line, as the RD gave us the final directions. And with that, we’re off!

The course for the Yankee Springs Trail Marathon ran along winding single-track (frequently used for mountain biking) for two 13.1 mile loops. My plan coming into the race was to relax the first loop and to let the others do the work, then race hard the second. However, that plan flew out the window within the first 15 seconds of the race, when I found myself leading along with two other runners, who I’ll call Altra and Pearl Izumi, for obvious reasons (Pearl Izumi is actually a really nice guy named Ryan Smith with whom I chatted with for a good chunk after the race).

Running completely on adrenaline, I had zero idea how fast I was going, but Altra and Pearl Izumi were content to tuck in right behind me. Within the first mile, we wound through beautiful pine trees, crossed a small wooden bridge, and trudged through some momentum-destroying sand. However, right around mile 2, Pearl Izumi took off past me, gaining 30 seconds on me within the next ½ mile, and was soon out of sight. At around the same time, Altra started dropping off too, so by mile 3, I found myself in no man’s land.

Fortunately, I was able to really relax and take in the gorgeous scenery, and with the cool weather, plus my handheld bottle, I didn’t need to stop at the first aid station at mile 4(ish?). Looking for Pearl Izumi up ahead without much luck, I hear footsteps catching up to me (Altra??), which wakes me up, and I kick it into gear, skipping the aid station at mile 6(ish) to drop some sub-7 miles through some windy and hilly sections. This stretch was easily my favorite part, and despite the hills, I was really able to get into a good rhythm.

Bypassing the next aid station (mile 10ish?), I hear Altra say something to me, only to look back and find Pearl Izumi! Totally bewildered (“Dood wut I’m chasing you???”), Pearl Izumi explains that he took a wrong turn back at mile 3ish. We chat about school, running, and my stint in Martinique, and before I know it, we’re back at the start/finish area at mile 13.1. Initially, my goal for the day was to run sub-3:20 (so 1:40 at the half) – I had yet to check my watch all race, so when we came through the halfway point at 1:34, I was pretty surprised. However, I was feeling pretty good, buffered by the fact that I was in first place (!?), something that’s never happened to me before.

I ran straight through this aid station, noticing that Pearl Izumi was stopping. He quickly caught back up to me, and we set into a nice pace together. Running up to the next aid station (17?), I determined that I still had enough water in my bottle, and continue on, while Pearl Izumi stopped again. I run solo for the next 5 minutes, until Pearl Izumi catches back up, but at this point, I’m thinking how he’s now thrown in 3 fast bursts to catch up to me, while I’ve maintained a steady pace all day.

Confident and still feeling good, we truck on together, until around mile 19(?), when I hear Pearl Izumi stumble behind me. Looking back, I see him on his knees – I call a quick “You okay?” to which he responds in the affirmative. Now, don’t judge me here, but this was a race, and I knew I had to sever his connection, so at this point I threw in my first real surge, trying to gap him as much as possible.

With an empty water bottle at mile 20(?), I decided to stop for the first time, quickly refilling it at the aid station while taking a glance back. Not seeing anyone within 20-30 seconds, I jumped back into my favorite part of the course, throwing down what could’ve been my fastest miles of the race. However, it was towards the end of this section and the last aid station (23?) that the race started to take its toll. I hadn’t taken anything in terms of calories for the day, but really didn’t like the idea of anything besides water, so after a quick refill and a cup thrown on my head, I was off.

This last section was pretty terrible, to be blunt. I was nearly walking the uphills, and the heat was starting to become pretty noticeable (after the race, discovered it would get to be around 85 degrees for the day). Plus, these friggin’ horseflies would not stop trying to land on me (how’s that for the whole 'dead' motif?). To be honest, if I wasn’t in first at this point, I couldn't see myself running nearly as fast as I did, but running scared has its advantages.

Finally, interminably, I saw the finish area, and threw in one last kick to cross the finish line in 3:09:48. Fun fact: professional Montrail runner Max King ran this race last year, setting the course record in 3:03:10 (granted, he also ran the 10k the day before, and the half marathon the day after). Gonna give him a run for his money next year...

Totally spent and feeling like death, I spent the next 5 minutes stumbling around in the shade and hating life. Then, my appetite came back with a vengeance, I proceeded to stuff my facehole with way too much food, enjoying life again. I was able to see Pearl Izumi cross the finish line, a little more than 10 minutes behind me, but apparently someone else snuck in there to nab second in 3:14 (yeah – don’t want to think about what could’ve happened had this been a 50k).

We all spent the next hour lounging in the sun, chatting with Pearl Izumi and Altra about training and racing and general running nerdery. A bunch of people were curious as to my footwear, so shout out to TJ for lending me a pair of Newton BOCO ATs. In fact, they’d been what I had been primarily training in this past month, so I’m convinced these shoes played in a huge part in my success that day. Also, thanks to Dana for letting me spend the night at her place, driving me to and from the race, listening to my eclectic taste in music, and just putting up with me in general.

I then proceeded to borrow Dana’s car and drive 3ish hours home, all without a license or money. That was pretty stupid, and I was VERY thankful there was enough gas in her car to get me home without having to resort to prostitution for money. But really – I have no idea what I would’ve done…

All dem running muskels were pretty trashed the next day, so I hopped on the bike for a couple of easy hours, and by Monday, I was back to running (this time in the Newton Gravity - great shoe). I'm pleased as punch with this new marathon PR - not only was it only some hilly trails, but I was able to even split almost exactly. I'm pretty confident I can race a sub-3 road marathon, but alas, I’m without a July race at the moment, my next being the Lake Michigan Trail Marathon August 31^st. I’m gonna do some research for a road half or full marathon in the next couple weeks, so hopefully I’ll get in another race sooner rather than later!